His [Publius's] father was sick in bed, suffering from
fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed
his hand on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the
sick on the island came and were cured (Acts 28:8-9).
I hate detours, especially when I am racing around on a tight schedule. It can be one of the most frustrating things for a guy that has to travel from place to place in order to do his job. It is bad enough being in the car for hours on end traveling but adding road construction, wrecks, or just rubber neckers in morning traffic is enough to make anyone go nutty.
Paul was on a mission to make known the gospel to the people in Rome, to stand before Caesar, an proclaim the good news about Jesus. Instead of an easy, swift trip, Paul experienced detours. He was shipwrecked off the island of Malta, he was thrown into a freezing cold sea...then he was bitten by a snake. (Talk about a bad day at work...Those that know me know that I wouldn't be anywhere near a snake!) Paul was just trying to get to Rome and do what he was commanded to do. I can assure you that Paul did not leave for Rome thinking that he would get through this cruise and get a chance to get a tan on the way there.
All these troubles and all theses setbacks and yet the great apostle took it all in stride. He simply refused to let the detours thwart his ministry to the people of Malta. In other words, God's mission was his PRIORITY! And Paul must surely have known: "The hand that points the way also provides the way." In other words, Paul was really on course the whole time!
How we react to trouble or to detours shows where we stand with our faith. Do we react with anger, desperation, or whining? Asking God why all this had to happen right now? Or do we simply take a deep breath and follow the lead of the Father? I wish that I could say I react the way that Paul did. I wish that I could say that I don't get annoyed or irritated when the things in my path slow me down. I pray that one day I am as strong in the faith as Paul. Strong enough to realize that God places these opportunities in our way not to annoy us but to show His strength and His Glory through them. We need to realize that our mission is not that important to God. We need to mindful of what God wants from us.
So the next time you are stuck in traffic, smile at the person in the car to the left or the right of you. The next time your child is slow in getting ready for school, don't yell at them to come on already, ask them how you can help them get better prepared to go. (That is as much for me as for anyone!) The next time your hamburger is wrong at the drive through, don't go ballistic on the lady in the window, simply scrape the extra junk off. See, when God found you, you weren't exactly what He ordered either. Did He send you back or did He simply scrape off the crud that He didn't want?
I hate detours, especially when I am racing around on a tight schedule. It can be one of the most frustrating things for a guy that has to travel from place to place in order to do his job. It is bad enough being in the car for hours on end traveling but adding road construction, wrecks, or just rubber neckers in morning traffic is enough to make anyone go nutty.
Paul was on a mission to make known the gospel to the people in Rome, to stand before Caesar, an proclaim the good news about Jesus. Instead of an easy, swift trip, Paul experienced detours. He was shipwrecked off the island of Malta, he was thrown into a freezing cold sea...then he was bitten by a snake. (Talk about a bad day at work...Those that know me know that I wouldn't be anywhere near a snake!) Paul was just trying to get to Rome and do what he was commanded to do. I can assure you that Paul did not leave for Rome thinking that he would get through this cruise and get a chance to get a tan on the way there.
All these troubles and all theses setbacks and yet the great apostle took it all in stride. He simply refused to let the detours thwart his ministry to the people of Malta. In other words, God's mission was his PRIORITY! And Paul must surely have known: "The hand that points the way also provides the way." In other words, Paul was really on course the whole time!
How we react to trouble or to detours shows where we stand with our faith. Do we react with anger, desperation, or whining? Asking God why all this had to happen right now? Or do we simply take a deep breath and follow the lead of the Father? I wish that I could say I react the way that Paul did. I wish that I could say that I don't get annoyed or irritated when the things in my path slow me down. I pray that one day I am as strong in the faith as Paul. Strong enough to realize that God places these opportunities in our way not to annoy us but to show His strength and His Glory through them. We need to realize that our mission is not that important to God. We need to mindful of what God wants from us.
So the next time you are stuck in traffic, smile at the person in the car to the left or the right of you. The next time your child is slow in getting ready for school, don't yell at them to come on already, ask them how you can help them get better prepared to go. (That is as much for me as for anyone!) The next time your hamburger is wrong at the drive through, don't go ballistic on the lady in the window, simply scrape the extra junk off. See, when God found you, you weren't exactly what He ordered either. Did He send you back or did He simply scrape off the crud that He didn't want?
Comments
Post a Comment